Dwight Hall elects new leadership

Dwight Hall members voted on a new student executive committee at a cabinet meeting Tuesday night.

Joseph Breen ’12 (a staff photographer for the News) and Alexandra Brodsky ’12 were elected co-coordinators, and will lead the new board when it takes over in January. They said their vision for Dwight Hall centers on improving the relationships and communication between the organization’s member groups and its executive committee.

“In the past, Dwight Hall might have gotten distracted by campaigns and bigger events, but that has to be [Dwight Hall’s] second priority to our member groups,” Brodsky said, adding that the member groups are the backbone of Dwight Hall.

During their candidacy speeches, Breen and Brodsky said they planned to put more responsibilities on the members of the executive committee who act as liaisons to Dwight Hall’s three sub-divisions, education, public health and social justice. This year, the liaisons will also work as “membership coordinators” to promote collaboration within the sub-divisions. Breen and Brodsky said they hope this new role will boost communication within Dwight Hall.

The rising committee will continue the current leadership’s goal of overhauling Dwight Hall’s bylaws, which have been the same for 17 years. Current co-coordinators Thomas Meyer ’11 and Jill Hagey ’11 said these changes are intended to improve ties between the small groups and the committee, as well.

Meyer, Hagey and Program Director Johnny Scafidi ’01 all expressed excitement about the new committee, and said the candidates for this year’s executive committee had all demonstrated a serious commitment to Dwight Hall.

“The best thing about the new co-coordinators is they have plenty of experience as previous ExComm members,” Meyer said.

He added that Brodsky has found new ways for volunteers to serve the community during her time with Dwight Hall through initiatives like Moments of Service, and Breen is a co-director of one of Dwight Hall’s largest groups, the Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action Project.

Three Dwight Hall members interviewed at the elections said they saw a lot of potential in the new board, which consists mostly of their first choice candidates.

Breen and Brodsky said they see Dwight Hall as a “training ground” that encourages students to lead a life of service after their four years at Yale.

Over 70 Dwight Hall members attended the cabinet meeting, at which three new member groups were admitted into Dwight Hall: a reading and writing mentoring program called BookMarks, an LGBT mentoring group called Fierce Advocates and an organization that plays music in hospices and health centers called Musical Cure.